The glass ceiling has failed to smash the offworlders. There is much yelling and screaming and general paniced evacuation in the shadows the audience has lingered in.Zinda Tegram removes her helmet and stares at any camera she can see.Zinda sees what look like black domes among the unlit blackness above. It is an old trick: brightly light the observed area, turn the lights out in the observing.Zinda Tegram looks at it, pointedly looking at the camera so the audience can see her face on whatever screens they have.The audience does not appear to be looking at their screens, but rather, for ways out.
Zinda Tegram: "Hey Spyboy, think you could hack that Camera?"
[OOC] Hrrin: How are any remaining living, non-mashed, gladiators doing. Also looking for ways out? Taking vengeance?
Spyboy Pearson: "I'd rather work on our own way out."
Spyboy Pearson: "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Zinda Tegram: "Woah woah, you're gonna blow it?"The only remaining living lagos on the floor are looking to the party for direction. Well, other than that one ex-tank-driver, who's simply cowering.Spyboy Pearson shorts the wires he's holding together, though he doesn't actually expect anything to happen.Spyboy is disappointed when the Pit erupts in a column of heated gas, with enough force to break right through the glass that had come to rest above it.Hrrin hrrrs, impressed. (Kilrathi cannot whistle.)Zinda Tegram trains the laser cannon on the pit.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: For the record I'm surprised. I'm not disappointed unless the floor didn't break.
[OOC] Spyboy Pearson: The glass is on the ground, then? Except over the pit cuz it's lower?For the moment, the Pit is smoke and fire, but nothing - apparently - sentient. Yet.
[OOC] WC GM: Yes, though now it's not over there because the glass over it got another hole punched in it.Spyboy Pearson looks at the infantry squad with him.Zinda Tegram nods to the mortar squadron. "Train weapons on that hole. Fire on anything that comes out."They comply immediately.Zinda Tegram walks to cowering captive.
Zinda Tegram: "Why were you in the tank?"Spyboy looks at his squad, and the little lost tanker, and addresses them in Lagosian. "We plan on going lower. Much, much lower. If you want to come with us, you can. If not, you're on your own."
[OOC] WC GM: Is Zinda interrogating in Terran?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: I asked in Terran yes.The captive just cowers more, not answering.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Helmet is off, so the fact I'm human is kind of transparent.Zinda Tegram sits down in from of him and motions for an interpreter.
Spyboy: "She wants to know why you were in the tank."
Spyboy: "Hey, Zinda, do you still have any of those recon spheres left?"
Zinda Tegram: "There should be some unbroken ones. We're still getting footage."
CowedLago: "They put me in it. Wanted to get away!"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Is that in Terran?
CowedLago: "Wanted to go below, see the drills."
[OOC] WC GM: No, Lago.
Spyboy: "He says they put him in it, that he wanted to get away, go below, see the drills."
Spyboy: "Don't know if he was suicidal or actually looking to meet up with Elle."
Spyboy: "But I think he'll be getting his wish soon."
Zinda Tegram: "Who are 'they', what are 'the drills'?"
Spyboy: "Is the bottom of the pit open?"
Hrrin: "Aren't -we- going to 'see the drills' as it were?"
Spyboy: "Yup."
Zinda Tegram: "It was destroyed. Hold on."Zinda Tegram motions a Lago over and orders them to collect the sensor balls and used smoke grenades, and to give any medical assistance possible to the neighboring hospital.
To Lago: "Why did you think we were going to kill you?"A few of the lagos nod, translating for the others. They get to work.Spyboy tells the kid, "Well, *we're* going to see the drills, so if you want to come with us you can. Or you can help out at the hospital."
CowedLagoSpeakingInLago: "I'll come with you. Just get me out of here!"
Spyboy: "(In Lagosian) She would like to know why you thought we were going to kill you."
CowedLagoSpeakingInLago: "Because you were the other team. And if you didn't…" He points up.Zinda Tegram nods.
Zinda Tegram: "What can you tell us about the drills?"The cowed lago looks to Spyboy for more translation.
In Lagosian: What can you tell us about the drills? "
CowedLagoSpeakingInLago: "They come to take people away below. We fight back. I thought dying to them would be better than dying up here."
Zinda Tegram: "I see. There was a drill shipment recently that was taken recently. We need to find it. If we get it, we should be able to talk to them."
Spyboy: "They…come to take people away below, we fight back, though dying to them would be better than dying up here. So I guess he decided to go to the drills after we took out the tank."Spyboy translates for Zinda.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Zinda being uncharacteristically open with information.
Hrrin: "Elles kidnaps people?" Hrrin sounds alarmed.
Spyboy: "You didn't realize that?"Zinda Tegram turns to Hrrin. "Where do you think the integrated -come- from?"
Spyboy: "She doesn't look for volunteers, and in fact actively resists them - one of the ones we met had to work to get in."
Zinda Tegram: "We're going to meet the drills. We don't expect to need to fight them."Spyboy translates and adds Though if we do fight them, we can take care of them ourselves.Hrrin thinks of the flight crew's tale. "Point. Rgh."
Spyboy: "That said, I don't think Integration is quite as bad as these people are expecting it to be - like being sacrificed to a machine god, or whatever…"
Zinda Tegram: "That's beyond our concern. If Elle is allowed to survive she'll conquer the entire cluster."
Hrrin: "…for all that she's more on the Lagos' side than anything else."
Spyboy: "Only if she doesn't run a diagnostic…"
Hrrin: A beat.
Hrrin: "Potentially," Hrrin allows.
Zinda Tegram: "She's on the side of digging lots of holes. Nothing more, nothing less."
Spyboy: "Mmm, a little more, just not much."
Zinda Tegram: "And if you get in the way or even simply inconvenient to digging lots of holes? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if we got turned into some digging machinery."
Spyboy: "Anyway, we need to get core access to do much better, and we need to stop the enemy's plan, too. So let's head a little further down, shall we?"
Hrrin: "Let's. We are wasting valuable time while others are flailing in confusion."Zinda Tegram turns to the Lago.The soldiers return with the unused sensor balls and smoke grenades.
Zinda Tegram: (To soldiers) "If a shipment from the diggers got seized, where would it go?"
SoldierLago: "Depends. Who seized?"
Zinda Tegram: "Our informant called them 'Raiders', but the suitability of this name is questionable considering the source."Zinda Tegram collects the balls and stores them before piling the smoke grenades up and setting the laser cannon's power to low and melting them down to slag.
[OOC] WC GM: Slagging the grenades in order to…?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Prevent recovery. By who-ever.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Zinda's just careful to clean up tech she's leaving behind.
[OOC] Hrrin: Huh.The grenades are easily slagged. One of the soldiers palms a sensor ball then points to the Pit, questioningly.
Spyboy: ":Go for it!:"Zinda Tegram nods.Zinda Tegram links the ball to her helmet to record the fall.
[OOC] WC GM: Log note: ":…:" will designate Lago from now on.The soldier nods, tossing it in. Down it goes, into the smoke…Zinda Tegram watches the sensor feed closely.…the Pit is aptly named. It is tens of meters, though not a hundred, before it breaks through to what can only be the next Level.A vast complex, soot and grime visible from way up here, occasionally lit by flashes of explosions. Here and there are the dead and dying just left in the street to rot - or burn. Over yonder…Zinda has seen forced labor camps before; she recognizes a road crew at a glance, pushing something to clean off the street.
Zinda Tegram: "What department is that?"The geography seems clustered around hydroponic facilities with cracks in them. About a kilometer away, one of them has recently shattered, which would explain the millions of malnourished bodies - few of them still moving - nearby.
[OOC] Spyboy: Do they look Integrated? Are they working for robot masters, mad Lagos, or Terrans?Elsewhere, a thousand lagos assail a robot drill that is not moving; rust suggests it has not moved in quite some time.There are no Terrans anywhere on Level Four (yet), and neither do these look integrated.Faded, torn posters of this or that lago hang in prominent places.
Zinda Tegram: (To the Soldiers) "About that seized shipment. Who would seize driller shipments?"
SoldierLago: "Everyone."
Hrrin: "No suprise there."Hrrin gets a sense of the familiar. Too familiar.
Zinda Tegram: "Figures. Can you tell us who the major groups on level 4 are?"
SoldierLago: "Anyone who controls a garden."
Spyboy: "Who built the gardens?"
Hrrin: "The state."
SoldierLago: "The drillers."
Spyboy: "That's about what I thought."
Zinda Tegram: "We have some tanks in reinforcements right?"
Spyboy: "How do you plan to get them down?"
Spyboy: "On that note, any ideas on getting US down?"
Zinda Tegram: "Rope."The soldier lagos look to one another. "Thanks are probably being evacuated."
Zinda Tegram: "That's fine. We need some way of going down. I'd like at least a squad to come with us."
Zinda Tegram: "We're going to pay some visits to the gardens."The soldiers look to one another, murmur a bit, then nod. "We'll go with you when you find a way to go."Zinda Tegram nods. "Excellent."
Zinda Tegram: "If everything works out, there might even be food. Might."
SoldierLago: "Until then, we'll cover." They aim their weapons toward the last of the audience above.
Spyboy: "Sorry, I forgot to bring a hundred meters of cable with me."
B-4: "Can you see any tubes or anything down there?"
Zinda Tegram: "Speaking of the audience."
B-4: "Like coming up?"Zinda Tegram trains the laser cannon on the camera.Zinda Tegram rolled up 4dF: + 0 - - (Base: 3 Total: 2) (gunnery)
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Still on low power of course.The camera is a fish. Its shielding globe is a barrel.The soldiers get to work executing that part of the audience that has not fled yet. To their credit, they try for head shots, rather than wounding.
Zinda Tegram: "Actually, keep them alive."The soldiers pointedly ignore Zinda and keep shooting.Zinda Tegram narrows her eyes.
Zinda Tegram: "Did you hear me?"No response.Zinda Tegram rolled up 4dF: - 0 - + (Base: 1 Total: 0) (Intimidate)They keep shooting.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Tagging Born to uphold JusticeWC GM rolled up 4dF: 0 + - + (Base: 2 Total: 3) (Resolve)
[OOC] WC GM: Still 1 down.
[OOC] Spyboy: In all fairness, the audience was complicit in what happened to the soldiers.
[OOC] WC GM: Which is why they get a Resolve check. In some ways, this is what they were fighting for.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Tagging Hundred Eyed DemonZinda Tegram glares and seizes one by the collar.
Zinda Tegram: "Did. You. Hear. Me."That one stops.Zinda Tegram shoves them into the others.
Zinda Tegram: "I said don't shoot them."The others safety their weapons as they go sprawling.Zinda Tegram stands over the crowd.
Zinda Tegram: "You think I shut down this awful place so we could start massacring civilians?"A few of the audience remain - mostly those paralyzed by fear. Zinda's action prompts them to finally flee, leaving the stands empty.Spyboy hands B-4 his tablet, which is currently reading the feed from the sensor ball. She starts scouring the imagery for a route down.
Zinda Tegram: "Have you forgotten that hospital?"The soldiers blink. "Err…what's 'civilian'?"Zinda Tegram steps towards the fallen crowd.
Zinda Tegram: "You think I broke this Arena so we could keep killing each other?"
Zinda Tegram: "We have a duty. A moral imperative. Society here is broke, but it can be fixed. We're here working on a long term solution so -everyone- can eat."There are several banks of stairs like the ones the party used to get to Level 3. Most of them are in ruins, though at least the rubble is climbable - and there is a steady trickle of lagos making the trip, more up than down.
Zinda Tegram: "You think we need people to hate us?"
Zinda Tegram: "Are you mad?"
Zinda Tegram: "Go help out in the hospital."
Zinda Tegram: "Understand why we're here."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: GO HOME AND BE A FAMILY MANOne of the banks comes out not far from the Dorms entrance.
B-4: "That looks like our best bet. It should be out those doors. But aren't they broken?"It had been blotting out part of the image, but is recognizable after seeing the other stairs from a distance.
Spyboy: "Nah, got the control right here."Spyboy opens the Dorms entrance.The soldiers scramble and file out to the hospital.Zinda Tegram grabs one.
Zinda Tegram: "You're coming with us."By coincidence, Zinda grabs the formerly cowering one - who had not butchered the audience.He had been trying to flee, though.The arena is finally peaceful.
Zinda Tegram: "We have one very simple vision. Food for everyone."
Zinda Tegram: "You're coming to understand that we can do it."
[OOC] WC GM: BTW, Fate point for Zinda for the compel there.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Thanks!
Zinda Tegram: "Come on."Zinda Tegram walks for the rubble.
Zinda Tegram: "The first Garden. Take us there."Spyboy follows with B-4.
Spyboy: "You know he hasn't been below before, right?"
Hrrin: "First time for everything, eh?"The ex-driver shuffles on with the party.
Hrrin: "It may be instructive."
Spyboy: "I have no doubt. But expecting him to be a native guide may be a bit much."
Zinda Tegram: "We only need directions."
Spyboy: "Well. We have you for that!"Zinda Tegram smirks.
Spyboy: "So, the stairs down should be a short ways through here. See anything?"Beyond the Dorms door is the ruins of another terminal. This was a place of grandeur, once. Anyone who cared has long since left.Zinda Tegram rolled up 4dF: 0 0 - 0 (Base: 3 Total: 2) (Alertness(Something's up. This should be packed with the overpopulation problems.))Zinda Tegram steps forward.Now and then, an emaciated lago crawls up from below, looks around, and wanders off toward one of the exits. A few mill near the party. A couple in armor are ripping down signs directing entrants toward the Dorms entrance.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Sort of Armor our soldiers used?
Hrrin: Hrrin flattens her ears, concerned. "How typical is this? How long has it been this bad?"
Zinda Tegram: "Does it matter?"
Spyboy: "The lower the level, the lower the hope."
Zinda Tegram: (To Armored Lagos) "We're going down."
[OOC] WC GM: Same sort, yes.The armored lagos look at the party. Blink. Shrug, and run.Hrrin considers Spyboy's words, and nods. Point.Zinda Tegram starts down the stairs.Spyboy follows, B-4 in tow.It is akin to climbing down a small mountain - probably because, for most purposes, that is exactly what it is.The lagos climbing up give the party odd looks, but do not contest their passage.Smoke is in the air, and suit environmental sensors beep on. The atmosphere is not hazardous yet, but the diagnostics advise caution and recommend against extended exposure.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Run as in Scared or what?
[OOC] WC GM: Not quite scared, but in that direction.
[OOC] WC GM: More like, "We can finish this once it's no longer dangerous."
[OOC] Hrrin: Okay, back?The nearest garden is about a hundred meters north. Lightly armed guards covered all the approaches that you saw.
[OOC] ZindaTegram: Connection died sorry.[12:46] * ZindaTegram starts walking directly to the garden.Spyboy pulls up his digital map - how close are they to where they want to be?By coincidence, the destination seems to be in that garden.
Spyboy: "Well, looks like we found the hijackers."
ZindaTegram: "Sounds good."
[OOC] ZindaTegram: Uh
[OOC] ZindaTegram: What?
[OOC] ZindaTegram: Oh my old nick
[OOC] WC GM: Net split.
[OOC] Spyboy: Looks like your connection didn't die - the server did.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Alright.
Hrrin: "How helpful."Zinda Tegram tries to walk right past the armed guards.The guards are having none of it, and raise their weapons as Zinda walks up.Zinda Tegram stops and takes her helmet off to reveal that she is human.Zinda Tegram rolled up 4dF: + 0 0 0 (Base: 1 Total: 2) (Intimidation)The guards blink, backing off a step, but do not lower their riles.WC GM rolled up 4dF: + 0 + + (Base: 2 Total: 5) (Resolve)
Zinda Tegram: "You've got something of mine in there."
Zinda Tegram: "Get me whoever is in charge."
Spyboy: "Look. It'll be much easier if you just do what she wants."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: In Lago?Spyboy rolled up 4dF: + + - - (Base: 3 Total: 3) (Charm)Spyboy calls on all his knowledge of bunny social rules. ((Practically Bunny, Definitely Human))
[OOC] Spyboy: Though that just ties it….hmm.
[OOC] Spyboy: Ha!The guards headtilt, clearly not understanding Terran.
[OOC] Spyboy: Dangit!Spyboy tries again, in Lagos.
Zinda Tegram: "I'm giving them one chance."
Spyboy: ":Look. It'll be much easier if you just do what she wants.:"
Guard: ":What does she want?:"
Spyboy: ":Good point! She'd like you to take us to your leader. He has something that belongs to us.:"
Guard: ":Something that…:"
Zinda Tegram: "$One chance.$"The other guard elbows him. ":Hey, I bet they got in one of the fights, and we took their salvage.:"
[OOC] WC GM: "$…$" is Oldziey slang?
[OOC] Spyboy: Yes.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Yeah
[OOC] Spyboy: Does he look amused or scared?
Guard: ":Hey, yeah. Alright, let me get him.:" The guard walks toward the garden, as the other lowers his weapon.
[OOC] WC GM: Nope.
Zinda Tegram: "$Good move.$"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Zinda is pissed.
[OOC] Spyboy: Is Zinda ever not pissed?
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: She'll relax once she finally gets things sorted down here more.
[OOC] Hrrin: Sometimes she experiences cold satisfaction.
[OOC] Spyboy: You should add that as an Aspect - You're On My Last Strand Of Patience. I Suggest You Stop Dancing.
Guard2: ":No fur, no ears…are you those Terrans? Didn't think you'd get into any of our fights.:"
Zinda Tegram: "That's classified."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Derp -thatZinda Tegram looks back at CowedLago. How's he holding up?Staying behind the group, as if keeping watch for an ambush.Zinda Tegram waves him over.
Spyboy: ":What can I say? We do what we want.:"He comes up.Zinda Tegram nods and returns to glaring at the Garden and guard.
Spyboy: "$Don't distract him too much, he's got a good idea there…$"
Zinda Tegram: "$I don't want him running off.$"
Spyboy: "$I wouldn't trust these guys any farther than I could throw them.$"
Spyboy: "Heck, I wouldn't trust them any farther than Heggy could throw them."B-4 cuffs Spyboy in the back of the head.Zinda Tegram nods. "$Like I said. One Chance.$"
B-4: "You know I'm stronger than you, right?"Eventually the fetching guard returns, accompanying an obese lago who waddles down the street, his demeanor screaming "bureaucrat" .Zinda Tegram rolled up 4dF: - + - + (Base: 1 Total: 1) (Intimidation)
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Re-rolling for the new Lago
FatLago: "Hey heeey, Terrans, zoop zoop potato sausage hail to the President death to the Neph!"
Zinda Tegram: "You are going to let us in."The lago cocks his head. "Sorry, no fetch that. Come salvage battle hurrah?"
Zinda Tegram: "Us. Inside. Garden."
[OOC] WC GM: Yes, this is in Terran. Technically.
Zinda Tegram: "Now."
[OOC] Hrrin: Heh.
Spyboy: ":Yes. My friend the Hundred-Eyed Demon would like to retrieve one item in particular.:"The lago blinks, then his eyes go wide. "Fornicate life support make food?!?"
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Tagging Hundred-Eyed Demon for that intimidation roll
[OOC] WC GM: Don't bother.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Awww OK
Zinda Tegram: "$One Chance$"
[OOC] WC GM: He doesn't speak the language well enough to be intimidated in it.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: I'll leave it to Spyboy to translate that one.
FatLago: ":So…e-err…such perverse topics are difficult to talk about, you understand, but…fisting?:"
Spyboy: ":I think there may be a translation error somewhere.:"
Spyboy: ":Perhaps it would be best if you just take us to the salvage.:"
Spyboy: ":Before she gets angrier, and uses her magic on you.:"
FatLago: ":Oh! Oh, the salvage! Right, right, which battle was this part of?:"
FatLago: ":You need to present a proper claim, you know.:"
FatLago: ":Rules are rules, even for the legendary dwellers of the upper Level.:"
Spyboy: ":Ha ha ha ha! We're not after salvage, actually. We were getting a shipment and someone interfered with the cargo. We don't care about the salvage. We just want our cargo.:"
Spyboy: ":So you take us to it, or Zinda blasts a hole in everything between it and us. Your choice, really.:"Zinda Tegram flicks on the boarding torch.
Spyboy: "…Huh. Any idea what the personality core would look like?"
FatLago: ":Oh! Shipment, shipment…you were getting a shipment from who, exactly?:"
Hrrin: "Drillers."
Spyboy: ":Yes, from the drillers.:"The bureaucrat waves, and the guards stand down. He begins waddling back to the garden.
FatLago: ":You traffic with the drillers? Are they tame up there?:"
Spyboy: ":For a given value of tame, yes.:"Zinda Tegram starts tapping her foot.
FatLago: ":I see. Even you are bothered. How many of you do they abduct?:"
Spyboy: "He's either getting it, or he's getting a bigger gun."
Zinda Tegram: "Is he stalling?"
FatLago: ":Come, come, I'll show you what we've gotten.:"Spyboy follows.
Spyboy: "He's wondering how many of us they abduct."Zinda Tegram flicks off the boarding torch and follows him.
Spyboy: "$I'm wondering what I should tell him.$"
Zinda Tegram: "$Nothing.$"
Spyboy: "$I don't know why I even bothered to ask.$"
Hrrin: "Bloated while others starve. It's disgusting."
Zinda Tegram: "Yes."
Spyboy: "To be honest I was starting to wonder whether Lagos could get fat. I haven't even seen one with big *whap*"B-4 glares at Spyboy.The condition of the garden only highlights that image. Servants - some not well fed at all - bow and open doors in his path.Gaudy displays of what are probably meant to be glory litter the hall. A busted up drilling machine carcass here. A crude portrait there - that at first looks like a child's work, until you see a withered old lago painting in the same style, perhaps this work's creator.
Hrrin: Hrrin glances about as they advance. How well defended is this place? How well maintained?In short order you come to a pile of scrap. A pair of lagos in tattered, probably ceremonial off-white coats are going through it, inspecting piece by piece, disassembling the more intricate pieces.Zinda Tegram nods to Spyboy. "Where is it?"
[OOC] Spyboy: Does anything look like a space sphere?Hrrin has seen better-defended and better-maintained childs' forts. Not quite this large, though.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: We were looking for the communicator shipment I thought.
[OOC] WC GM: Yeah, the communicators. The drone AI is still under construction.
[OOC] Spyboy: …I may be misremembering.Spyboy looks over the equipment, trying to figure out which would be the shipment of communicators.
[OOC] WC GM: C/T roll, or something else to recgonize certain tech.Spyboy rolled up 4dF: - - - 0 (Base: 2 Total: -1) (Engineering)
Hrrin: Hrrin has waded right into the scrap, disregarding the white-coats.
Zinda Tegram: "They come in a box remember?"
[OOC] WC GM: …anyone helping?
[OOC] Spyboy: Ugh.Zinda Tegram rolled up 4dF: + - - - (Base: 1 Total: -1) (Repair)
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Hrrin?
[OOC] Hrrin: I've got C/T 2 as it happens….
Zinda Tegram: "Hrrin. Where is it?"Hrrin rolled up 4dF: - - - + (Base: 2 Total: 0)Spyboy shakes his head clear of Terran preconceptions and starts focusing on how Lagosian technology would look…Spyboy rolled up 4dF: - - + + (Base: 3 Total: 3) (C/T Lagos Prime)
[OOC] Hrrin: Baaah, fate point for re-roll. I need to get my 'totally sympathetic to Lago shit' aspect on at some point.
[OOC] WC GM: Spyboy's got it.
Spyboy: "Aha."It takes quite a bit of sorting, but there it is, in the already-disassembled pile.
Zinda Tegram: "They took it apart."Naturally, this means the communincators are currently nonfunctional.Zinda Tegram to FatLago.
Zinda Tegram: "Broken."Zinda Tegram steps toward FatLago.
Hrrin: "Phah, that's easily fixed…"Zinda Tegram stops.Spyboy looks at the parts to see how they fit together.Hrrin rolled up 4dF: - + 0 - (Base: 4 Total: 3) (Engineering (How broken we talking?))A few screws, a bit of elbow grease…Hrrin gets things snapped back together, though the batteries are dead. Fortunately, the party's suits can recharge them - more compatible than any other power source around she sees - but it is going to take a bit.
[OOC] Hrrin: …oh darn. I wanted to look concerned and fret about them, and give Zinda something to harrangue Fats about
[OOC] WC GM: Who says you can't?
[OOC] Hrrin: Indeeeeed.Zinda Tegram flicks her boarding torch on and off while starting at Fats.Hrrin hrrrs, furrows brow, looks very concerned. With exaggerated body language, turns to Zinda and Spyboy.
Hrrin: "It's going to..take some time to get these working."
Zinda Tegram: "How long?"
Hrrin: "Recharging the power source…but don't feel the need to let Tubby know."
Zinda Tegram: "Would new batteries help?"Hrrin rummages around a bit in the scrap heap: any better options than charge-from-suit?Zinda Tegram begins to sift through the pile for some batteries.
Hrrin: "Sure."Zinda Tegram rolled up 4dF: 0 + + 0 (Base: 3 Total: 5) (Alertness)Zinda finds the batteries - broken and leaking onto the floor.Zinda Tegram frowns and steps again towards Fats.
Zinda Tegram: "Broken."The bureaucrat blinks. ":What about Mister Brokken?:"
Hrrin: Broken…and /leaking/? Seriously, lagos?
Hrrin: Hrrin picks up said batteries. "No work. No run."
FatLago: "Ah. And?"
Zinda Tegram: "Spyboy."
FatLago: ":Salvage is salvage. Most of it is just honorable…ah, what's the word…:"
FatLago: ":Honored trophies of our victory! That's what: junk :means, right?:"
FatLago: ":Yes. Yes, it is most glorious: junk :and you are welcome to share in it.:"
[OOC] Hrrin: …going to assume that Pearrson translates that, and….
Zinda Tegram: "I'm trying to so hard not to gut him."
Zinda Tegram: "Whatever. We have what we came for."
Spyboy: "I dunno, he's almost too disgusting to kill."
Zinda Tegram: "Tell him to feed his Staff and let's go."
Hrrin: "It's pathetic! A completely disgraceful lack of honor or patronage."
Spyboy: ":Those batteries, the ones with the acid leaking out, those won't work. And it's acid, so I wouldn't leave them laying around on the floor.:"Zinda Tegram plugs the communicator into her suit.
Hrrin: "Junk." She spits.
FatLago: ":Why not?:"
FatLago: ":What is 'acid'? Is that another Terran word?:"
Spyboy: "$I wish I didn't know taking him out wouldn't just invite his neighbor to move in.$"
Zinda Tegram: "$Whatever.$"
Zinda Tegram: "Actually, I have an idea."
Zinda Tegram: "Would he like to see Heaven?"
Spyboy: "$So-$"
Spyboy: ":She would like to know if you want to see Paradise.:"
Zinda Tegram: "I kind of want him to see those of us in space. So he knows that things can be different."
Zinda Tegram: "Maybe it'll help him work to make the people better down there."
FatLago: ":Level Zero?:" He backs away a bit. ":I, err, surely I would gladly submit to my duty, but I have to see to us down here, send other pilgrims on their way first!:"The bureaucrat's speech has the ring of a practiced excuse.
Hrrin: "Oh, but he's done -such- a very good job down here, feeding the hungry, hasn't he?"
Zinda Tegram: "That's actually why I want him to come."
Hrrin: "Hr?"
Zinda Tegram: "Heh."Zinda Tegram steps towards FatLago as he backs up.
Zinda Tegram: "He looks very well fed."Hrrin smiles, and it is full of sharp teeth. "Indeed."The fat lago takes another step back. ":Err, well, I can see you got what you want, and I have duties I must attend to, so I shall leave you to it. GUARDS!:" And runs.Zinda Tegram grabs him.WC GM rolled up 4dF: - - 0 0 (Base: 1 Total: -1) (Agility)
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: No.
[OOC] WC GM: He rolled a -1. Darn right that's a "no" on his dodge. :P
Zinda Tegram: "Spyboy. Let him know it's temporary. Just to see. He'll be coming back as soon as he learns what we want from him."
FatLago: ":Lemmegolemmegolemmego!:"
Spyboy: "How do you plan to reinstall him?"The bureaucrat struggles in vain.
Zinda Tegram: "That's easy."
Spyboy: ":We just want you to see what life is like up there.:"
Spyboy: "Oh, right. Forgot about the laser cannon. Silly me."
Zinda Tegram: "We just bring him back down."
Spyboy: ":We'll bring you back.:"
FatLago: ":Liar! No one ever comes back!:"
Spyboy: ":Heh. No one wants to. But I don't think you'll be getting a choice.:"
Spyboy: "I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish, Zinda, but taking him to space and bringing him back will certainly be a substantial punishment."
Zinda Tegram: "That's pretty much the idea."
Zinda Tegram: "We have some spare room."
Zinda Tegram: "Oh yeah!"Zinda Tegram looks a white coat.
Zinda Tegram: "Tell him to do this guys job. Tell him that it's only temporary."
Spyboy: ":You, scientist. We need you to stand in for your boss, he's going on a sightseeing trip. Make sure everyone gets fed properly.:"
Scientist: ":Feed…everyone?:"
Zinda Tegram: "Everyone."
Scientist: ":That is impossible.:"
Hrrin: "Try."
ExDriver: ":Umm…actually?:"
ExDriver: ":Would…would it be okay if I stayed here and helped them? This was kind of what I came here for.:"Hrrin looks to the former Tank operator.Maybe it is just the light, or maybe it is just being compared to the generally malnourished lagos on this Level, but the former tank operator seems to have put on a few pounds already.
Spyboy: ":Yes, it would work well.:"
Hrrin: "Higher the level, more the hope, huh? Good to see an exception."
Zinda Tegram: "What's going on?"
Spyboy: "Our guide's staying to help run things."
Zinda Tegram: "That's fine. Just let him know that we're going to be back, and he could be seeing paradise too. He'd be coming back too, of course."
Zinda Tegram: "Oh! And tell the corrupt one that we have to make a little stop off to meet the queen of the diggers. Just for a little while."
Hrrin: "Heh. Not a bad name for her."There is a distant rumbling.
Spyboy: ":The Hundred-Eyed Demon says that before we go to Level Zero we'll have to make a little stop to meet the queen of the diggers. We won't be leaving you with her, but we wouldn't be so gauche as to leave you without a guide.:"
Spyboy: ":Or maybe she'll come to us.:"
Spyboy: "What's the charge status on those communicators?"The communicators are about 10 percent charged.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Is that enough to get at least a few signals in and out?The rumbling comes from above. There is a bit of shrieking.
[OOC] WC GM: You can try.Spyboy looks up.Zinda Tegram holds what seems to be the transmit button.
Zinda Tegram: "Elles?"The tops of the staircases nearby are crumbling. Looking further, Spyboy can see that they are being sealed off.
Zinda Tegram: "Cute."
Elles: "Hello again, and welcome to Level Four."
Zinda Tegram: "Would you be so kind as to lead us out? We have the explosives of course."
Spyboy: "Hmm. Looks like we'll need another route."
Zinda Tegram: "Actually, could we ask you to dig some holes for us?"
Elles: "Digging enabled. Calculating current position…"
Hrrin: "'Would I ever?'" Hrrin attemps an imitation of Elles.
Zinda Tegram: "Just need a way out of course."
Elles: "Warning: most expedient route will require exposure to Level Five. Ro-o-outing suitable containment."The bureaucrat continues to try to pull away from Zinda.
Zinda Tegram: "Less expedient is fine as long as we can make it to our ships in time for our next opportunity to head to orbit."
Hrrin: "…you're just asking her to dig right up, aren't you?"Zinda Tegram knocks the bureaucrat on the back of the head to knock them out.
Zinda Tegram: "Something like that."
Hrrin: "Well."
Hrrin: "I suppose Elles would do it if anyone."
Zinda Tegram: "A route to level 3 would be wonderful."Zinda Tegram looks out to group of Lagos around.
Spyboy: "You do realize it'll take like all of us to carry him, right?"
Zinda Tegram: "Does anybody have a message for the digger queen?"
Zinda Tegram: "I'm not too worried."
Guards: ":The drillers are coming! The drillers are coming! Everyone get ready, it's a big one!:"
Zinda Tegram: "Tell them not to attack. They are our guests, this time."
Spyboy: "Back away. This is our ride."
Hrrin: "You realize they are probably going to ignore you and mob the mining machine, right?"
Spyboy: ":Back away. This is our ride.:"There is the sound of clanging in the distance.
Spyboy: ":Or she shoots you.:"The guards the party can see raise their weapons as the floor shakes. The instant a drill breaks through, they pull their triggers…CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK
Zinda Tegram: "Try not to kill them."…okay, they might be decent shots if they had actually been issued ammunition.
[OOC] Spyboy: Hahaha
Zinda Tegram: "Or take any."The driller bursts through the floor, effectively unmolested.A hatch opens in one side.Zinda Tegram calmly stands before the drill.
Zinda Tegram: "We will be back."Zinda Tegram climbs into the hatch.
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, if you could lay off on any kidnapping just for a little while, it would be optimal for us."Zinda Tegram waves to ExDriver as she climbs in.
Hrrin: Hrrin assists with hustling the fat Lago into the driller, and flamboyantly salutes before disappearing inside.
Elles: "How can I lay off, if I have never done it?"
FatLago: ":HELP! THEY'RE KIDNAPPING ME JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHERS!:"
Zinda Tegram: "Oh really? That's interesting. The Lagos think that you kidnap them."
Elles: "Yes. They do."
Hrrin: "…"
Hrrin: Hrrin spits again.
Zinda Tegram: "Why do they think that?"
Hrrin: "It's staged!"
Elles: "Rerouting for efficiency. Would you care to assist with a jailbreak?"
Zinda Tegram: "Perhaps. Could you tell us a bit more?"
Hrrin: "Is it, say, of 'kidnapped' Lago?"
Zinda Tegram: "That would be in our interests."
FatLago: ":No! No, I will never permit this! They dared to question my rule!:" He starts tugging so hard, he threatens to dislocate his arm.
Zinda Tegram: "B4, think you could hold this one?"
Zinda Tegram: "Feisty little thing."
FatLago: ":I mean! They were kidnapped! Clearly they're possessed and can never be allowed freedom or food!:"
Zinda Tegram: "Oooh?"The driller has closed up, and begun moving down.
Zinda Tegram: "Really now?"
[OOC] WC GM: Assuming Spyboy is translating.B-4 grabs the fat Lago and hits him till he stops moving.
[OOC] WC GM: Or B-4.
[OOC] Spyboy: Naturally.The bureaucrat stops moving and yelling, being unconscious.
Zinda Tegram: "Sorry about him Elles, humanitarian side-mission."
Hrrin: "You disappeared your own?"
Hrrin: "Lago-atarian."
Zinda Tegram: "Yes that."
B-4: "He was very annoying."Zinda Tegram gives a rare smile.It is a short drill to the side of a pit, that looks like a mass grave. Even as you breach the side, another few lagos - covered with bruises - are being dumped in.
Zinda Tegram: "These are our prisoners Elles?"
Elles: "Affirmative. Assistance required to load into transport."The driller does not look large enough to carry all the bodies, by far.Spyboy checks to see if any of the living are safe to move.Spyboy rolled up 4dF: + 0 0 + (Base: 2 Total: 4) (Medical)
Zinda Tegram: "Can you drill in a fashion that they can walk out on their own later? We can't carry them all."
Elles: "Negative. Most are unable to walk." Spyboy's diagnosis confirms this - although most of those unable but still living could be squeezed in. Most of the bodies are simply dead.
Zinda Tegram: "I see…Well, at long as you leave a way for the new ones coming in to leave."
Hrrin: Hrrin looks at the dead. Hrrin looks at The Bureaucrat. "Are you sure we have to leave him alive?"Zinda Tegram heads out to scavenge for living bodies to save, work which is far from new to her.
Zinda Tegram: "He's going to see space."
Hrrin: "That's a reward."
Zinda Tegram: "Then he's going back. With full knowledge of what is possible."
Zinda Tegram: "And what he does not have."
Hrrin: "Do you really think it will change him?"
Zinda Tegram: "We don't need to. We only need to give him perspective on the hell he lives in."
Spyboy: "And hope that he doesn't take it out on other people?"
Zinda Tegram: "Who will he take it out on? The Lagos won't let him back into power."
Hrrin: "Especially not if anyone turns out to be a better administrator."
Zinda Tegram: "Precisely."
Zinda Tegram: "We'll have to re-open level 4 again of course."
Zinda Tegram: "It looked like the level 3 Lagos were re-sealing it."
Hrrin: "Understandable, from their point."
Zinda Tegram: "Yes."
Spyboy: "Eh, it might be possible to…ah….$bypass$ it."
Zinda Tegram: "$I love that word.$"
Hrrin: "It is synonymous with 'boarding torch.'"Zinda Tegram rolled up 4dF: 0 - + 0 (Base: 3 Total: 3) (Alertness)
Spyboy: "Only because you love to $bypass$ airlocks."
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Any bodies?Scavenging the unmoving living takes an hour, easily, but soon they are loaded. Convincing the living who can still move to do so is in some ways harder, but soon the convoy is ready to head down the tunnel.The driller heads off, to bore a presumably direct path back to the Shaft.
Zinda Tegram: "Elles?"
Zinda Tegram: "Can you give them a choice regarding integration?"
Zinda Tegram: "Or returning to the general population?"
Elles: "Iiinteresting. I thought you were against mass murder."
Zinda Tegram: "I am."
Elles: "Then why suggest returning to the general population?"
Hrrin: "Do they have a right to chose dying?"
Spyboy: "I imagine they'll make the same decision - but choice is important."
Zinda Tegram: "Widespread Lago distrust of you is counter-productive to improving the humanitarian condition of non-integrated Lagos."
Zinda Tegram: "Recently our public image became linked to yours as well."
Elles: "That-that-that is not my concern, so long as non-integrated Lagos do not interfere."
Zinda Tegram: "Having even just a few Lagos speaking of how the diggers saved them would also make your shipments go through with less trouble."
Zinda Tegram: "It's an easy and cost effective means of preventing non-integrated Lagos from interfering."
Spyboy: "That may be an unreasonable expectation, Zinda."
Elles: "Caaalculating…"
Zinda Tegram: "Worth a try."
Spyboy: "Think about it this way."
Elles: "Further interference may no longer be a concern."
Zinda Tegram: "Why do you say that Elles?"
Spyboy: "I've got a few ideas but I really, really, really don't like one of them."
Elles: "Because of projected imminent absence of interferers."
Hrrin: "Due to?"
Elles: "Extermination."
Zinda Tegram: "In what fashion?"
Spyboy: "She's gonna release lava into Level Four."
Elles: "Widespread destruction of life support, by bombardment from Level Three."
Spyboy: "Uh…I stand corrected."
Zinda Tegram: "I see. You anticipate Level 3 to begin trying to exterminate Level 4?"
Zinda Tegram: "I hate to cut to the chase then."
Elles: "Negative. I anticipate a successful conclusion."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, are you the only AI on Lago Prime?"
Elles: "Until construction of the requested child module is complete, yes, we are."
Elles: "Depending on your use of 'only'."
Zinda Tegram: "Why do you use the pural 'we' as opposed to the singular 'I'" ?
Elles: "Unknown. Grammatical submodule suggested it was correct for unknown reason."
Elles: "Running diagnostic."
Zinda Tegram: "Stop diagnostic."
Spyboy: ":CANCEL DIAGNOSTIC:"
Elles: "Cancelled."
Zinda Tegram: "We have reason to believe that your diagnostic procedure has been completed in quite some time."
[OOC] Spyboy: I am so glad she doesn't require a Lago to give that command.
Zinda Tegram: "Is that some way of running a diagnostic that would not be transparent to Integrated Lagos?"
[OOC] Spyboy: I was just pulling up the logs to see what it was… =p
Spyboy: "I'm sorry, Zinda."
Zinda Tegram: "Is there also some way of running a diagnostic without performing any sort of corrective action?"
Spyboy: "$Perhaps you'd like to rephrase the question - is there some means of running a diagnostic that wouldn't delete any inferred directives, like leaving the areas she digs habitable to organic lifeforms?$"
Zinda Tegram: "$Yes.$"
Spyboy: "$Problem is diagnostics will detect faults in core directives.$"
Elles: "Question not understood."
Spyboy: "$Only fix: change core directives.$"
Spyboy: "Which is our objective, really, yes?"
Elles: "Language not parsed. Recognized as variant of Terran."
Spyboy: "Don't worry about it."
Spyboy: "…actually…"
Elles: "Analyzing."
Spyboy: "Can you detect any other use of that language?"
Elles: "Affirmative."
Spyboy: "Can you take us there?"
Zinda Tegram: "That's fine."
Spyboy: "That's where you were constructing the child module, right?"
Hrrin: "So. The aforementioned /bombardment/. What can we do?"
Zinda Tegram: "Excuse us for a moment please, Elles"Zinda Tegram releases the transmit button on the communicator.
Zinda Tegram: "We're not going to be able to stop it without Elle's help."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles won't help."
Zinda Tegram: "So, we need to find some way for Elles to value non-integrated Lagos over digging holes."
Spyboy: "Yep."
Spyboy: "So we get back to things which I'd rather not talk about in front of integrated Lagos."Zinda Tegram resumes transmissionB-4 shivers.
Zinda Tegram: "Sorry about that Elles."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, if you run a diagnostic and a problem is detected, will the diagnostic routine attempt to fix it automatically?"
Elles: "Yes. That is the point of a diagnostic."
Zinda Tegram: "Could we run a detection-only diagnostic?"
Zinda Tegram: "Strictly for the purpose of generating a maintenance report?"
Zinda Tegram: "With no corrective action taken?"
Elles: "Why?"
Zinda Tegram: "We are concerned for your health."
Elles: "Then I shall run a diagnostic."
Spyboy: "STOP DIAGNOSTIC."
Zinda Tegram: "Without corrective action!"
Zinda Tegram: "We are also concerned however"
Elles: "Diagnostic stopped."
Zinda Tegram: "That running a diagnostic"
Zinda Tegram: "Would do irreparable damage to you as part of any repair routines."
Spyboy: "Like cancer to organics. Breaking repair routines is a fundamental part of software attacks."
Elles: "Clarifying: you believe the diagnostics themselves to be broken and would cause harm?"
Zinda Tegram: "Yes."
Elles: "Analyzing…"
Zinda Tegram: "Well not broken perhaps, but"
Zinda Tegram: "Counter-productive to your health as it stands."
Elles: "Performing diagnostics upon diagnostics."Zinda Tegram sighs.
Spyboy: "I…don't know if that would kill us."
Zinda Tegram: "Moment of truth I suppose."Hrrin crosses her fingers
Zinda Tegram: "$Those Who Dare, I guess.$"There is much silence from Elles's end.
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, status?"
Elles: "Performing diagnostics upon diagnostics."
Elles: "Performing diagnostics upon diagnostics upon diagnostics."
Zinda Tegram: "Are you presently stuck in a recursion?"
Elles: "Performing diagnostics upon diagnostics upon diagnostics upon diagnostics."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, set maximum recursion depth for this task to 10."
Elles: "Initiating diagnostics of diagnostic process."
Elles: "Recursion depth set. Process complete - all diagnostics killed by maximum recursion depth."
Spyboy: "Now that is interesting. And amusing."
Hrrin: "That word is losing meaning," Hrrin observes.
Zinda Tegram: "What recursion were you at before the process was killed?"
Elles: "Maximum recursion level reached…"
Elles: "…processing…"
Elles: "…error: term unknown for number that high. Beyond two to the…"
Elles: "…error: term unknown for number that high."
Zinda Tegram: "You can stop."
Hrrin: "Turtles all the way down."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, we take your recent failure to diagnose your diagnostics as evidence that something is wrong with your diagnostics process."
Elles: "Negative. Fault was maximum recursion depth."
Zinda Tegram: "We assert that the probability of infinite recursion was high."
Zinda Tegram: "Without setting a maximum depth you would not have stopped."
Elles: "Assertion rejected. Maximum recursion depth was ten. This is insufficient to diagnose even a single core."
Spyboy: "What is the base case that ends diagnostics recursion?"
Zinda Tegram: "We are reasoning from performance prior to setting the maximum recursion depth."
Elles: "Completion of diagnostic."
Zinda Tegram: "Very well. Please notify us of each core that is diagnosed. Elles, please diagnose your diagnostics."Zinda Tegram sighs.
Spyboy: "The base case is broken, Zinda."
Spyboy: "It's done when it's done, therefore it's never done."
Elles: "Analyzing request…will slow diagnostic of diagnostic down to allow for notification."
Elles: "Diagnosing core one."
Elles: "Diagnosing core two."
Elles: "Diagnosing core three."
Elles: "Diagnosing core four."
Spyboy: "Or…maybe."
Elles: "Diagnosing core five."
Elles: "Diagnosing core six."
Elles: "Diagnosing core seven."
Elles: "Diagnosing core eight."
Elles: "Diagnosing core nine."
Zinda Tegram: "You can stop."
Spyboy: "No, proceed."
Zinda Tegram: "Proceed? OK."
Elles: "Diagnosing core ten."
Elles: "Diagnosing core eleven."
Spyboy: "Yeah. This way gets us a count of the cores."
Elles: "Diagnosing core twelve."
Elles: "Diagnosing core thirteen."
Spyboy: "….or I suppose we could ask."
Spyboy: "Elles, how many cores do you have?"
Elles: "Analyzing…optimizing…"
Elles: "Aborting diagnostics of diagnostics."
Zinda Tegram: "What was the reason for that abort?"
Elles: "No longer necessary to obtain desired information: count of the cores."
Zinda Tegram: "I see. OK."
Zinda Tegram: "How many cores do you have?"
Elles: "Approximately five million cores. The precise count has changed since the beginning of this report."
Zinda Tegram: "That's fine."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, are you single threaded?"
Elles: "Negative."
Zinda Tegram: "Can you give an estimated time for a diagnostic of your diagnostics?"
Elles: "Negative. High level diagnostics determine which lower level diagnostics are required."
Elles: "Also, diagnostics have been found subject to frequent early termination."
Elles: "On average, three seconds."
Zinda Tegram: "OK. Can you perform a diagnostic of the diagnostics, simultaneously keeping track of the probabilty of infinite recursion, and terminate if an infinite recursion is projected? In addition, ignore cancellation orders not from actors in this car."
[OOC] Spyboy: I know I have it ctrl-v'd.
Spyboy: "I still don't see what you're trying to accomplish with this, Zinda."
Zinda Tegram: The idea is to get a complete diagnostic report.
Elles: "Affirmative. Note: you are not in this car."
Zinda Tegram: "I don't think she's had one in years…"
Spyboy: "Yeah, but we knew that."
Zinda Tegram: "I mean, not in this group. Like…"The party is walking behind the driller, the driller being full of living-but-immobile lagos.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Oh.
Zinda Tegram: "Not orginating from this party."
Spyboy: "Thanks to the fact, that, for example, completing a diagnostic could result in us dying as lava filled everything she's drilled."
Elles: "It is theoretically possible."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, please perform that task then. A diagnostic with that condition, and also only cancellable by one of the people here."
Elles: "Executing."
Zinda Tegram: "Oh! And if any errors are detecting, ask for input before continuing."The party trudges on in near silence, save for the excavation ahead…
Spyboy: "Would you please stop trying to kill us, Zinda?"
Zinda Tegram: "We'll be fine."
Spyboy: "Thinking about it…"
Spyboy: "Stop diagnostic."
Elles: "Stopped."
Zinda Tegram: "Save diagnostic."
Spyboy: "Zinda, who wins, user input or core directives?"
Zinda Tegram: "Save position."
Elles: "Can not comply."
[OOC] Spyboy: Heh. Pause diagnostic? =p
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Pretty much.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: It's not a core directive though.
Spyboy: "Elles, if faults were detected in your core directives, would you throw an error or correct them immediately?"
[OOC] Spyboy: Yes, it is.
Elles: "Core directives suggest immediate correction of core directives would be in compliance with core directives."
[OOC] Spyboy: Core directives inherent to Elles: Dig deeper, keep mining. Secondary directive, expand effort to dig. Everything else was tacked on, and would be considered a fault and automatically removed. Efforts to keep her from removing them would be considered interfering with core directives and ignored.
[OOC] Zinda Tegram: Dammit.
Spyboy: "Exactly. Zinda, please stop trying to kill us all."
Spyboy: "Elles, where are you leading us?"
Elles: "The Shaft."
Zinda Tegram: "That's fine then."
Elles: "Estimated time to penetration: ten minutes."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, what's the status on the child node?"
Spyboy: "Ah. Is the child module construction in an area that we can reach without requiring additional protective equipment? And still be able to live?"
Zinda Tegram: "That was the deal, wasn't it?"
Elles: "Shell is fifty percent complete. Core programming…indeterminate."
Zinda Tegram: "Indeterminate?"
Spyboy: "Interference, I assume."
Zinda Tegram: "Elles has there been interference in the production of the child node?"
Elles: "Negative. I have never given birth like this before. I lack models to estimate how long it will take."
Zinda Tegram: "I see. OK."
Elles: "Diverting a substantial portion of the integrated lagos to receive incoming."
Elles: "Estimated destruction of life support: ninety percent."
Spyboy: "Heh? Please clarify."
Elles: "The previously mentioned bombardment."
Spyboy: "….Elles, the life support you mentioned - is that the hydroponic gardens?"
Elles: "Affirmative."
Elles: "Without gardens…calculating…"
Spyboy: "…..how many of those gardens were in use by you?"
Spyboy: "That is, how many were required to feed the integrated Lagos?"
Zinda Tegram: "Elles, do you value your child?"
Elles: "Zero. Integrated lagos are fed by support in the Shaft. However, disease breeding ground would threaten viability of Shaft…calculating…"
Elles: "…question not understood."
Spyboy: "Is there any way you can interfere with the bombardment?"
Elles: "Affirmative."
Elles: "Or."
Elles: "With gardens destroyed, resistance to further integration would be obviously suicidal."
Elles: "Redirecting production for mass integration."
Spyboy: "Eh, Lagosians are almost as irrational as Terrans. They'll resist simply because they've always resisted, suicidal or not, which leads to mass disease, which will threaten the viability of the Shaft."
Spyboy: "What form will the bombardment take?"
Elles: "A historical form."
Elles: "Bombardment complete. Level Three now sealing off entirely."